• The Value of a Person | Posted by Mart De Haan on May 26 2008

    Until I saw it, I didn’t realize that much of Israel’s Mount of Olives is a cemetery. Here, those who remember the dead place a stone of remembrance on top of their loved one’s grave.
    Today, in America, we use this Memorial Day to honor those who have lost their lives fighting for our country.
    But those [...]

  • The "H" Factor | Posted by Mart De Haan on May 16 2008

    Like pride, the closets of humility are filled with different hats and clothes for different occasions.
    Popular opinion regards it as a doormat personality, and maybe even pride in disguise. Yet our books of common language describe it as the kind of realistic view of ourselves that is necessary to share the pain or joys of [...]

  • Bible Ah-Ha! #9 | Posted by Mart De Haan on Apr 05 2008

    Over time we all come across ideas that change the way we think about ourselves and one another. For me, one of those thoughts is closely connected with 12 Step programs and the Church that we’ve been thinking about together in my last couple of posts. It’s also one of those perspectives that I [...]

  • The Submission Riddle | Posted by Mart De Haan on Feb 23 2008

    When does the absence of submission double its meaning?
    I learned something this week that has carried with me into the weekend. Let me see if I can put in words a thought that I find compelling.
    In the ongoing debate about the role of husbands and wives, we’ve probably all heard both sides of the argument. [...]

  • Father Issues (3rd of 3) | Posted by Mart De Haan on Feb 07 2008

    In my last post I ended saying, “From all that Jesus says about His Father, it’s clear that He wants us to love and trust His Father as He does.”
    A Father of Biblical Proportions
    Many of us, however, have not found the help we are looking for in an invisible Father. We are troubled when our [...]

  • Father Issues (2nd of 3) | Posted by Mart De Haan on Feb 06 2008

    In my last post, I ended saying, “In a day when so many of us long for a return to family values, it is disappointing to discover that a good dad is hard to find in the Bible.”
    But maybe this is a disappointment that can work in our favor.
    A Different Kind of Father
    A woman I [...]

  • Father Issues (1st of 3) | Posted by Mart De Haan on Feb 04 2008

    Let’s see if we can help one another through an issue that seems to be pretty common. Feel free to disagree with me. We’ll learn more if we talk to one another. Here’s a start on what I’ve been thinking about a problem that has some serious implications on our ability to pray and trust [...]

  • Enlightenment | Posted by Mart De Haan on Jan 01 2008

    What does it take to be wise?
    In a television commercial for online yellow pages, actor David Carradine plays a guru to a young seeker. When the student asks, “How do I find enlightenment?” the master says, “Yellowbook.com . . . Everyone is searching for something . . . . After all, it is a material [...]

  • Marital Abuse | Posted by Mart De Haan on Oct 01 2007

    Do we have a high enough view of marriage to respond adequately to marital abuse?
    Before answering, let’s consider one woman who represents many. To personalize her, let’s imagine her as our daughter or friend.
    She doesn’t know where to turn and blames herself for ending up in a bad marriage.
    We know she isn’t perfect. But what [...]

  • Wounded Soldiers | Posted by Mart De Haan on Jul 01 2007

    A veteran of the Iraq war recalls patrolling a street in Mosul on an ordinary Saturday morning when a grenade, tossed from a rooftop, exploded under his Humvee. He says he remembers lying on his stomach in the street unable to move his arms or legs. Blinded by the smoke, his ears were ringing as [...]

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